The Conservatives today published a series of photographs and press releases which expose the sham of Gordon Brown’s so-called ‘opening’ of a new medical centre in Basildon. You can always spot an election in the offing when a Prime Minister visit Basildon.
In an effort to create a good photo opportunity, the Prime Minister today cut the ribbon to ‘open’ the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon Hospital. But the Hospital had in fact been opened three months earlier. Gordon Brown even dragged back a patient from the first opening in July to help him cut the ribbon.
Evidence gathered by the Conservatives reveals:
* In June, the Hospital Trust published a newsletter announcing that the keys of the building had been handed over in a photo shoot
* On 1 July, the Centre announced it had official opened and began treating patients. Government websites confirmed the opening.
* On 2 July, the Trust put out a press release welcoming the first patients
* On 4 July, the local paper – The Brentwood Gazette – announced the opening to readers
* On 11 July, the NHS Trust put out a press release announcing a successful ‘first week’ of operations
* On 30 July, the Trust published another newsletter showing Heath Secretary Alan Johnson had officially visited the new Centre
* In August, the Trust announced that health dignitaries ‘officially opened’ the Education Suite at the Centre
Commenting, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said:
“In the last ten days alone, we’ve had fake announcements; fake photo shoots; and fake troop withdrawals. Now, after a hundred days of spin, Gordon Brown has set a new low by faking a hospital opening.”
“Gordon Brown’s big health launch is rapidly falling apart. How can you trust a Prime Minister who even fiddles a photo shoot?”
55 comments:
If you think that's bad, wait until the bastard goes back three more times before election day.
"We have even opened four new hospitals in Basildon - the Tories would close three of them to allow for tax cuts"
Dull dull dull
he really is a disgrace. moral compass my arse.
perhaps a website like that devoted to Andy Burnham
Gordon Brown launching the QE2, Gordon Brown opening the Forth Road Bridge, Gordon Brown opening the new (and old) Wembley Stadium....
Spin will never go away, that’s a fact, it did exist in Thatchers time and long before so give it a rest.
My favourite spin of the week was Cameron’s picture in all the papers on Wednesday morning. Long lens photo showing Cambo from his hotel window, were he was burning the midnight oil toiling over his speech “”SCRIPT””. The photo was an attempt to replicate those casual Kennedy style photo. Of course the whole thing was a set up, ie spin.
The other was “”forgetting””” to turn of his mic after he delivered his screen play to the conference, were he was heard to remark “ I love you babe” to his wife. All intentional..ie spin.
His 'Moral Compass' obviously spins
oh come on Iain you can do better than this, all sorts of places get "opened" months after actually opening.
I went to a hospital in Cardiff which had a new something or other opened by Blair a full six months after it was used by the first patient. And what about the Queen?
I have said this once and I will say it again. This is a tactic by the Tories, which therefore by default makes that also spin. Always try to blame the messenger and the method in which the messenger delivers the message. This helps divert attention from the story. Example 1000 troops coming home which is good news, so instead of acknowledging this rant on about Gord going to Iraq to announce it. Divert Divert and kill the messenger….That is SPIN.
God Iain, recycling Tory press releases directly now? Or did you lift it from Gallery news?
Increasing numbers of people in the mainstream media are turning against Brown.
His Iraq stunt this week went too far and many were sickened by it.
He's losing it and it's all down to, what appears to be, his almost compulsive dishonesty.
Gordon's gofer is exactly right.
This is a stupid story which discredits and disgraces the Tories.
You don't leave a brand new and much-needed centre closed for weeks whilst you wait for the space in the diary of the person you want to open it, you open it and then they come along some weeks later and officially open it. (Why do you think it's called an official opening?)
By going on about spin about a perfectly normal event it makes us less likely to be listened to when we have a genuine complaint.
I wonder how much coverage the BBC will give this? Not a bloody lot.
Stop saying "Its normal. Everybody does it." Gordon said he wouldn't do it and its turned out he's doing more more of it than anyone has ever done before. And he's just got no subtlety. Its clunking PR from a clunking great dolt. We can see the strings Gordon. Booooooooo
He's getting more bold every day. This one is straight out of some Soviet handbook.
When backbenchers use Photoshop, it's embarrassing. When the PM brazenly stages a fake opening ceremony, that's quiet audacious. Besides, only the media knew about this "opening".
Here's what the Essex Echo says:
"The Essex Cardiothoracic centre began treating patients three months ago and staff were not aware of today's official opening."
If he's doing this today, what he done in the past? What will he fake in the future? So much for a new start, he's more bent than Blair.
It is common to find MRSA in someones nostrill. Gordon Brown has been seen picking his nose and eating it. If he visits a hospital he could spread this bug around just by shaking someones hands. The public should be warnedvak
oh come on Iain you can do better than this, all sorts of places get "opened" months after actually opening.
Try reading Iain's post again. It had already been OFFICIALLY opened as well as actually started work. The Official opening usually happens a lot later but in this cases there appear to have been TWO Official openings. Can you see the difference?
Good photo opp - it-ll compensate for the several other A & E, Maternity and Oncology units they're intending to close in District General Hospitals elsewhere in the country which have been put on hold, incl mine which just happens to be in a marginal Labour seat(no co-incidence of course)sitting Labour MP to the fore in "fighting to save our local services" etc whilst trying to defend the government policy(now there was a spinning MP attacking AND defending government policy at the same time) until the NHS Review has been completed later this year - no doubt after an election when the proposals will miraculously re-appear despite massive public protest mounted in the local media to save it
Theres now a photo going around of Gordon attending the Yalta conference and advising Churchill on his strategy....
Also, perhaps he was standing next to Tony Blair watching Jackie Milburn play for Newcastle in the 70's whilst listening to the Arctic Monkeys on his iPod
Ed ... Try reading Iain's post again. There have not been two Official openings. The earlier one was just the Education Suite. Brown opened the main centre. Can you see the difference?
This is part of the Tory strategy to avoid an election at all costs.
Dale happily plays along with such things.
Brown is always going on about his being a Son of the Manse. Just what sermons did his father preach?
However loudly the Labourites moan most people who have visited the hospital since July will be wondering how the Clunking One 'opened' it.
James Purnell.
If brown is this clumsy with his lies then why would anyone trust him to run the country . Thus far he has proved a genius at not being Tony Blair.C`est Tous
Anyway Iain Dale as we all know bestraddles this blog thing like a mighty collosus. I have had an idea of how to topple him from his perch ....well ... add another element to the blogasphere anyway. You cannot topple a man who is on the front page of the Graph today of all days
Its a new format .Anyone interested in contributing please refer my blog and let me know if you want to help
Ithenku
Blimey I see the anon astroturfers are out in force today!
"The other was “”forgetting””” to turn of his mic after he delivered his screen play to the conference, were he was heard to remark “ I love you babe” to his wife. All intentional..ie spin."
Whoopee f**king doo. I actually suspect he does love his wife. I'm not so sure the cyclopean one loves his Beard
And you compare that to GB's cynical use of our troops? You f**king w***er.
Grow some f*cking balls, Stand up and use your own name if you're going to put forward utter balls like the content of your last post.
Buildings are often officially opened a while after they've actually been in operation though... the fuss over this is just more pre-election hype.
All this does however pose the question though of what exactly is 'spin'? Politicians have opened buildings, kissed babies etc ever since the invention of the camera (and probably before that) so can you really say that they're 'spin' which is quite a new concept. Surely they're just traditional political campaigning.
When he said he was going to cut down on spin I don't think Brown was promising never to do any political campaigning (e.g. opening a hospital) or to argue vociferously against Tory plans (e.g. rebutting Osborne's figures on non-doms, although I share the Tories concerns about civil service neutrality and how those figures were received). I think what he was promising to do was an end to the cynical manipulation practised by the likes of that "good day to bury bad news" spin doctor. You can argue about whether he's actually done that (e.g. visit to Iraq this week) but that's a world away from standard electioneering hospital opening.
It seems the real spin is coming from those who are trying to twist everything the PM does in to an example of spin...
This from the 10 Downing St website:
"Gordon Brown has opened a state-of-the-art heart unit on a visit to Basildon hospital.
Accompanied by Health Secretary Alan Johnston and minister Lord Darzi, the PM officially opened the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre this morning. The £60 million centre opened to patients on 1 July and is one of the most modern of its kind in the country."
How can you open something that's been open since 1 July? It's sinister!
At this rate, presumably Brown will soon be cutting a ribbon the M1, opening Heathrow, announcing the construction of shipyards on Clydeside and staging photo ops to open the Royal Albert Hall?
"Brown is always going on about his being a Son of the Manse. "
Yes that true. Its probably the sort of status that impresses the Scots. Its also a way of not saying that he's a Presbyterian just like his soulmate Ian Paisley.
Would you rather the hospital had stayed shut till he could open it?
Kevin said...
Would you rather the hospital had stayed shut till he could open it?
You sillybilly. No one is saying that. The hospital should be open and treat patients. I'd rather a fake opening wasn't staged to generate TV images and pictures. Brown can visit the centre if he likes, it sounds like a good facility, but there's no need to hold a fake ceremony.
Brown's playing politics with the NHS, they all do it but faking a hospital opening, that takes a brass neck.
".... cqivrBrown's playing politics with the NHS, they all do it but faking a hospital opening, that takes a brass neck."
By your standards all hospital official openings are fake then.
A question for all the various anonymous people and trolls in the thread... just how many times can something be opened officially? Will someone else be going there to open it all over again in a couple of months? Get over yourselves and admit it - this is a deceitful and cynical attempt to be associated with something that has taken place months ago for electoral reasons.
This, and other episodes, confirm what I have been thinking for some time, viz. that in some ways Gordon Brown is actually a very clumsy and unskilful politician.
Cutting a ribbon is no big deal unless you know it's going to make you look stupid and slightly dishonest. Then you don't do it. But he did.
The hospital has been open for three months.
That Brown wants to rush out some news on the NHS and do this in front of a shiny new hospital, I can understand that.
But staging an opening ceremony? As the Essex Echo says, hospital staff weren't even aware of the "opening", they'd done the ceremony of handing over the keys months ago. So this was an empty stunt for the media only.
Like I say, get a photo op in front of a hospital, that's fine. But put on a fake ceremony between you and the media, that's very cynical stuff.
Only a Labour propagandist could think otherwise, and even they must question whether this is the sort of political leadership they want.
One has to assume that Basildon is on the Heat Map?
The NHS Review that Brown's mate is about to unveil will no doubt prove like Wanless that all that is needed is yet more taxpayers' cash?
Public spending has increased by 41% in five years. With that amount of money washing around one has to wonder why there isn't a new hospital in every constituency.
Was Brown there or was he just airbrushed in after arrival 30 minutes late?
If all he did was cut a ribbon the decision to muscle in on an innocent hospital must have been made just this week. Or even today. Otherwise he'd least have had a plaque to unveil if not a foundation stone to lay.
STOP PRESS: Prime Minister Gordon Brown to conduct the opening ceremony at the new Palace of Westminster after its triumphant rebuilding by Labour Party supporters Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin, following a recent fire. More follows...
What a pity the Prime Minister hasn't visited our Hospital Trust recently, he could have presided over the precipitate departure of the Chief Executive after he unveiled the change from a predicted deficit of £14mil to one of £34mil.
He could also have tied up ribbons round the wards they are closing at our local DGH (despite the considerable increase in population locally), because of that deficit.
Desperate Dan said..."If all he did was cut a ribbon the decision to muscle in on an innocent hospital must have been made just this week. Or even today. Otherwise he'd least have had a plaque to unveil if not a foundation stone to lay."
Has no-one ever explained to you that the foundation stone is laid at an early stage of construction.
From the Essex Echo:
“The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre opened to its first patients on July 1.
Critics said the visit was simply a publicity stunt because it had been opened by Health Secretary Alan Johnson in July.
Mr Johnson did visit health facilities in south Essex, including the heart and lung centre, but did not open the new building.
A Basildon Hospital spokesman said: "On July 10, the hospital wrote to the Prime Minister inviting him to perform the official opening of the Centre, and suggested a number of dates in October.
"We told him this would be a major boost for the local community which is very proud that its local hospital is hosting such an important new NHS service.
"We were delighted that the Prime Minister was able to accept our invitation.”
I think this is a very fertile area for attacks on Labour. If local supporters could be recruited to comment on every photo opportunity cultivated by ministers and opposition politicians I think we can be confident there will be a deluge of conflicting information underlining the culture of “spin”. The only downside is the Conservatives need to be squeaky clean. This is not new; TB “opened” our local hospital long after it was up and running. The complimentary area to comment on will be why the media failed to draw the reader/viewer’s attention to the gap between open for business & photos; I suggest the BBC may be particularly open to criticism.
Iain, do you have a pointer to this press release? There is nothing on the Conservative website as far as I can see.
Is this a Conservatives only blog?
It didn't use to be.
Where's the fun in this story?
The fact that on this Blog Cameron can do no wrong and Gordon can do no right just makes it stale and predictable.
You'll start losing non-tories and then the tories wont be as interested in what you have to say as you'll just be another one of them.
Spark out man.
Interestingly the 4 month old centre on its third(?) opening ceremony is "brand new" according to the BBC.
Spinner - 500 of those troops to come home were already scheduled. Anf whay fly to Iraq to announce it?
If you want more evidence of the mess that Brown and his bumsuckers are getting themselves into by dissembling, check out Guido's story on the Yvette Cooper webchat, which had pre-cast questioners ...
http://www.order-order.com/2007/10/yvettes-spinners-do-non-denial-over.html
Brown - he's finished before he even started. Useless chancellor, utterly useless PM. And boy is he looking ILL
Isn't the problem that they already had an official opening.
Next, Brown will visit Berlin to commemorate Stalin's victorious WWII visit.
why do i get the feeling that all of a sudden, things are starting to unravel for Mr Broon? First the '1000 troops' thing, then narrowing polls, now this.
I said a week ago he won't call an election for november, and i'm even more convinced now.
trop withdrawal, clinic opening, self defence at home together add up to SPIN SPIN SPIN
and GB cant make GPs open out of hours, he negogiated out of hours away in last contract, GPs are independent and no nothing of this 50%
Staff at the hospital weren't even aware of what was happening. Brown turns up with an armada of TV cameras, someone whips out some ribbon and he cuts it. There was no plaque on the wall to unveil, this was a hasty fakery. Even a GMTV producer wouldn't be this bold.
This is backfiring. Everywhere you look, from his selection "election" in the Labour Party, to the party conference, sorry rally where no free speech was allowed, and now to his manipulation of media images, this is worthy of a novel by George Orwell.
The man comes across as furtive and nervous, vain and selfish, partisan and controlling. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but he's only been PM for a short while and I feel let down.
Blair was a shyster but had self-delusions to guide him, his childhood rejection/adoption led him to want to please the adults around him. Brown hasn't even got such shallow values he just seems in office for the sake of it.
It's not unusual for a new factory/shopping centre/hospital/waste disposal site to have an official opening some time after it actually begins operating. That being said, the Basildon hospital does seem to have had rather a lot of "official" openings.
Perhaps they are doing it in phases: "Today the Prime Minister officially opened the broom cupboard at the new Basildon Hospital. Tommorrow, Ant and Dec will preside at the opening of the downstairs lavatories".
I mean, it is a good socialist principle to spread the goodies around equally. Perhaps this policy now extends to the lukewarm chablis and day-old, salmonella vol au vents usually served at functions like this.
ps word verification ohcmtoni
Not for the first time, someone on here complains about Cameron 'forgetting' to turn off his microphone at the end of his speech. It's a bit of a pointless whinge really, since the responsibility for that always lies with the person in charge of the PA system - who in this case hadn't had a sparkling week anyway.
the use of troops to spin is utterly crass shows a total lack of empathy and touch. its more than the war in iraq is so controversial using the plight of soldiers for your own selfish self promotion is totally unacceptable. Brown just doesnt UNDERSTAND where to draw the line.
i attended the human rights fringe at conference with WH and mohamed nasheed. MH is about 5/5 and weighs about 60kg. He has been tortured and imprisoned for leading the opposition in the maldives. It was a really humbling experience, he is a real hero and very inspirational.There didnt seem to be an ounce of bitterness or conceit in him just a genuiune gratitude for the help the Conservative Party have given to him. This is real politics not cheap stunts and gimmicks.
This unit will treat the WHOLE of Essex.
It is to stop patients travelling to London Hospitals.
I wonder how many London Hospitals had their budgets cut or services reduced to fund this Essex unit?
Basildon Hospital has also had its specialist baby care unt removed and transferred to Broomfield Hospital 20 miles away in Chelmsford.
I wonder if this new baby unit in Chelmsford had an official opening?
And I wonder what infection rates for MRSA are like in Basildon?
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